TDS Academy Launched

The success of a two year education programme for letting agents and landlords covering all aspects of deposit protection has led to the launch of the TDS Academy by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme. This will provide a new course structure that will be rolled out from the middle of November and be will open to landlords in addition to letting agents, property managers and other property professionals.

These courses will provide an in-depth insight into protecting deposits, coping with claims, understanding the application of Alternative Dispute Resolution and an awareness of the severe penalties that can fall on landlords who fail to follow the law.

Given the harsh realities of the recession, these insights are considered to be more vital than ever before for anyone engaged in the Private Rented Sector. The courses are geared to help avoid disputes and unnecessary costs from arising in the first place.

The Tenancy Deposit Scheme is the longest established organisation providing deposit protection. It was launched in 2004 as a not-for-profit organisation with the backing of the lead professional bodies in the private rented sector, the Association of Residential Letting Agents, ARLA, and the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, RICS.

With the increasing need for professionalism in the rental market, the courses have been designed to fulfil the requirements of continuous professional development for letting agents and property managers. However, the TDS Academy aims to help private and portfolio landlords as well. It will provide a real insight, drawn from experience, into the best practice for trouble free tenancies and how to avoid disputes

This ambitious new Academy programme has been devised by the Tenancy Deposit Scheme’s Head of Adjudication, Mike Morgan, and Head of Member Relations, Ben Beadle. The courses have been framed with the help of the staff of the Tenancy Deposit Scheme and with input from the TDS Member User Forum.

Announcing the dates for the first TDS Academy courses, Ben Beadle said, “We have taken a detailed step forward from our original workshop programme and built still further on the principle that the better informed, the better equipped everyone will be to ensure trouble free tenancies and avoid disputes. This is more important than ever during harsh economic times when circumstances can change quickly, dramatically and expensively.”

The TDS Academy courses will be rolled out across the country from November 15.